FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Boston Woman Sentenced to 25 Years to Life in Prison
For Fatally Stabbing Man in Brownsville

Defendant Arrested after Fleeing to Massachusetts

Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a 35-year-old woman from Boston, Massachusetts has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing a 47-year-old man. The victim was stabbed more than 80 times in his head, neck and chest.

Acting District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This was a particularly brutal crime in which the victim was stabbed more than 80 times. The sentence the defendant received today reflects the viciousness of this deadly attack.”

The Acting District Attorney identified the defendant as Chivona Hughes, 35, of Boston, Massachusetts. She was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Neil Firetog. The defendant was convicted of second-degree murder following a jury trial last month.

The Acting District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, on September 19, 2014, at approximately 4:30 a.m., at 313 Legion Street, in Brownsville, the defendant stabbed Richard Saunders, 47, more than 80 times in the head, neck and chest, killing him. The attack took place in the victim’s home.

According to trial testimony, the defendant left her purse and identification at the victim’s home, along with a bloody palm print on the wall. A knife with the defendant’s DNA on the handle also was recovered at the scene. The defendant fled to Massachusetts and was apprehended in Boston in October 2014.

The Acting District Attorney thanked the Boston Police Department for its assistance in the investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Andres Palacio, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Taub, Chief.